The present invention is generally related to commercial systems and, in particular, to method and apparatus for capturing a person""s image and using the captured image in a retailing system.
xe2x80x9cPutting the pants onxe2x80x9d the customer is a long-standing term used in the fashion industry to explain to salespeople the need to show potential customers how they will look in various clothing styles. Tailors often said that a sale was not made until the customer xe2x80x9cputs on the pants.xe2x80x9d When a customer tries on various clothing styles and colors, the process is very time consuming. The need exists for the customer to see a variety of clothing styles and colors applied to his/her body type to form an idea of how a particular clothing style or color will look on that person.
One attempt to address this need has been through the use of so-called virtual models. An example of such a system is found at the web site (http://www.landsend.com) for Land""s End, Inc. By responding to a series of prompts regarding body shape, skin tone, hairstyle, eye shape, measurements etc, a customer is able to generate a computer simulation that approximates the customer""s silhouette. The simulation or virtual model can be saved and recalled for later use. Having created a virtual model, the customer can select various clothing styles for display using the virtual model. In this manner, the customer is provided an approximation as to appropriate sizes. However, by its very nature, the virtual model provides virtually no detail regarding the customer""s actual appearance. Additionally, the virtual model is generally displayed as a static image on a generic background. That is, the customer is not able to assess the appearance of the selected merchandise as it would appear when the customer is actually moving around within a variety of background settings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,021 issued to Harada et al. (the xe2x80x9cHarada patentxe2x80x9d) also discloses a system in which images of customers (captured through the use of a still image camera) are electronically stored. Later, when a customer is contemplating additional clothing purchases, a store clerk operating the system is able to recall the customer""s image and display a composite of the customer""s image with clothes that the customer has previously tried on or already owns. In this manner, the store clerk may better advise the client in coordinating contemplated purchases with clothes previously considered or owned by the customer. However, the Harada patent suffers from the same limitations as the virtual model system described above. Additionally, the Harada patent only displays the customer""s image in conjunction with clothing already considered or owned, and does not allow the customer to see clothing styles that he or she is currently considering applied to his or her image.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a computerized system whereby clothing styles are applied to an actual image of a customer without the attendant limitations of prior art systems. Such a system would reduce shopping time for the customer because the customer does not have to physically try on articles of clothing. Additionally, there would be less likelihood of the customer returning an untried article of clothing or deciding that the clothing style does not fit or is unflattering or does not coincide with the fashion image the customer desires to portray, thereby saving merchants the cost of returned items.
The present invention allows apparel retailers and other purveyors of such items an opportunity to virtually xe2x80x9cdressxe2x80x9d the potential customer in featured merchandise as a virtual xe2x80x9cfitting.xe2x80x9d As used herein, apparel includes clothing, accessories or any other items for which customer purchase decisions are typically based in part upon how the item appears when used by the customer. Through manipulation of digitized images, an image of the customer in a new apparel style is displayed. In addition, the image of the customer wearing the new apparel style can be shown under different lighting and background conditions such as in the evening at a restaurant, in a very dark dance hall, in a moderately lit boardroom, or walking along a downtown street during daylight hours. Sound effects and music can also be added to offer a fuller, more intense-effect viewing environment and enhance the entertainment aspects provided by the present invention.
The computer system is capable of merging video or still images of live, ordinary customers with video or still images of stored reference model images wearing the apparel. The computer system retrieves the stored reference images from a database and applies the stored reference image to the digitized image of the customer""s body. The potential customer is shown in the featured apparel (the stored reference image) by displaying the composite image on a video display. The composite can be offered as a still picture or animated to a specific situation. In one embodiment of the present invention, routing of store traffic through a predefined walkway facilitates capture of customer images. To maximize the quality of the composite image, the walkway preferably has the same physical characteristics and lighting to that used in obtaining the reference images. Knowledge (or estimates) of a potential customer""s weight and body height helps ensure a close match of the stored reference images to the captured image, creating a more realistic viewing of how the apparel style or color will look on the potential customer. The computer is capable of distinguishing differences between body sizes and is capable of filling in variations. A value system or weighting system assigns a value to distinguish the various body forms of customers.